Sunday, February 11, 2018 in Windsor, Ontario, several hundred parishioners were in attendance at the St. Francis of Assisi Croatian Church for the presentation of a generous contribution of $11,000 to Tribute to Liberty(TTL).

Special thanks to the Croatian Foundation of Windsor for spearheading the fundraising drive, as well as to Fr. Ljubo Lebo, the parishioners of St. Francis of Assisi who donated, Alojzije A Stepinac Kolo and Tamburica, Christian Women Organization, Knights of Columbus, and Windsor Croatia Soccer Club.

The presentation followed a mass commemorating the passing of Blessed Cardinal Aloysius Stepinac on February 10, 1960. In 1946, he was sentenced to 16 years in prison by a communist court. On October 13, 1946, the New York Times wrote that, “The trial of Archbishop Stepinac was a purely political one with the outcome determined in advance… Archbishop Stepinac was sentenced and will be incarcerated as part of the campaign against his church, guilty only of being the enemy of Communism”.

This contribution brings the TTL fundraising campaign (tributetoliberty.ca) one step closer to completion. The Memorial To The Victims of Communism : : Tribute To Liberty will serve as a public reminder of the millions of victims of Communism (including members of our own Croatian community) and will bring the suffering of these victims into the public’s consciousness. Construction of the Memorial in Ottawa will begin in 2018 and is scheduled to be completed in late 2018 or early 2019.

Other Croatian communities across Canada are currently at different stages of their respective fundraising campaigns. An aggregate contribution amount from the Croatian community will be reported once each of the campaigns have wrapped up.